"...many Americans are changing how they watch movies - especially young people, the most avid moviegoers. For 13 weekends in a row, box-office receipts have been down compared with a year ago, despite the blockbuster opening of the final "Star Wars" movie. And movie executives are unsure whether the trend will end over the important Memorial Day weekend that officially begins the summer season.

Meanwhile, sales of DVD's and other types of new media continue to surge.

With box-office attendance sliding, so far, for the third consecutive year, many in the industry are starting to ask whether the slump is just part of a cyclical swing driven mostly by a crop of weak movies or whether it reflects a much bigger change in the way Americans look to be entertained - a change that will pose serious new challenges to Hollywood.

Studios have made more on DVD sales and licensing products than on theatrical releases for some time. Now, technologies like TiVo and video-on-demand are keeping even more people at home, as are advanced home entertainment centers, with their high-definition television images on large flat screens and multichannel sound systems.

"It is much more chilling if there is a cultural shift in people staying away from movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the Exhibitor Relations Company, a box-office tracking firm. "Quality is a fixable problem."

But even if the quality of movies can be improved, Mr. Dergarabedian said, the fundamental problem is that "today's audience is a much tougher crowd to excite. They have so many entertainment options and they have gotten used to getting everything on demand."

Last year Americans spent an average of 78 hours watching videos and DVD's, a 53 percent increase since 2000, according to a study by the Motion Picture Association of America, the film industry's trade group. DVD sales and rentals soared 676.5 percent during the same period, and 60 percent of all homes with a television set now also have a DVD player. DVD sales and rentals alone were about $21 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.

Discs are now released just four months after a film's debut, and the barrage of advertising that accompanies the opening in movie theaters serves ultimately as a marketing campaign for the DVD, where the studios tend to make most of their profits.

By contrast, movie attendance has increased 8.1 percent from 2000 to 2004, according to the association.

More recently, the number of moviegoers has dropped, sliding 4 percent in 2003, 2 percent in 2004 and 8 percent so far in 2005.

Time spent on the Internet has soared 76.6 percent and video game playing has increased 20.3 percent, according to the association. Last year, consumers bought $6.2 billion worth of video game software, an increase of 8 percent from 2003, according to the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales.

This does not mean that the $9.5 billion theatrical movie business is anywhere near its last gasp. It still plays a crucial role for the studios in generating excitement. But movie makers recognize they have to be more on their toes if they want to recapture their core audience."

I guess it's supposed to be something of a cliche by now, but I had recently heard theatrical releases as becoming more of a promotional vehicle for DVD sales.

With that in mind, Asylum and Pendragon going straight to DVD sounds like the more modern, cost-effective route. As well, from the article describing how hard it is to attract audiences to theaters, probably goes a long way in explaining why big producers don't do meaningful "art" films anymore.

Could a thoughtful / faithful-to-1898 movie really make it in today's theatrical market? Will it even make it to DVD?

I must admit.. unless I'm REALLY bothered about a film, I wait for the DVD.
To me, it's watching a movie in the comfort of my own home without spending a fortune on snackage Vs. a bigger screen and surround sound but with screaming kids and Chavs ruining it.
Easy decision.

The thing about the cinema is if you need to pass water. You can sit for ages with a niggling feeling and it bothers you a bit so you wait for a quiet moment and do the mad dash only do a little sprinkle and when you get back something has happened you didn't want to miss.

The thing about the cinema is if you need to pass water. You can sit for ages with a niggling feeling and it bothers you a bit so you wait for a quiet moment and do the mad dash only do a little sprinkle and when you get back something has happened you didn't want to miss.

Thats why I buy the extra large pepsi, the carton is very useful and it's wax coated

Then there's the 'numb backside' syndrome.
Why is it that after sitting in a cinema seat for over a half hour I'd consider sitting on one of Vlad the Impaler's spikes more comfortable?
Or is that just me?

Then there's the 'numb backside' syndrome.Why is it that after sitting in a cinema seat for over a half hour I'd consider sitting on one of Vlad the Impaler's spikes more comfortable?Or is that just me?

Tell me about it!

I saw the second and third Lord Of The Rings at the cinema and it nearly killed my back and bum!

Then there's the 'numb backside' syndrome.Why is it that after sitting in a cinema seat for over a half hour I'd consider sitting on one of Vlad the Impaler's spikes more comfortable?Or is that just me?

I think that is just you, but looking at your outfit, it's what I would expect you to enjoy

It could if the set peices, writing, design, tone, and actor performance done to a very high standard.

Loz,
I guess that gets at a larger issue. Is there enough of a market out there -- enough people willing to part with a buck -- to make a film with good writing, good acting and tone, a viable investment?

I just did a little two-movie marathon viewing the 1965 version and the 2004 version of "Flight of the Phoenix." The older version (with Jimmy Stuart) had solid acting, and more emphasis on the writing than the "effects." The 2004 version followed very much the same plot line, but had feeble acting, truncated character development, and spent too much time on effects. For example, one scene in the '04 version has several fuel drums exploding dramatically at night. It did nothing for the plot (as they still had plenty of fuel even after that), but seemed there only as an excuse for a big orange fire ball -- a modern movie staple.

The forum buzz for that '04 movie was that it was a 'good' remake for "today's audiences." It was a good remake for the young movie watcher of today, they say. If they're right (about today's audiences), then perhaps a financially successful film needs big effects and explosions. Acting is secondary. The 'look' of the "actors" (beauty or hunkness) is more important than believable characters.

Could Wells' tale be told faithfully AND successfully (financial) with today's mass market audiences? Can a non-big-name producer attract real acting talent without the big bucks?

Not trying to be a bummer. Just wondering if there aren't enough movie goers out there for movies that don't subsist on the industry staples of sex, gore, cgi and explosions.

From some of the the responses, it seems many folks -won't- go pay money at the theater. Are the modern producers right?

I reckon there is a market for such a thing. Look at Lord of the Rings. I didn't think those movies would do half as well as they did.
They had great effects but they kept to the origional story as much as they could. The book drove everything else forward.
They could have been made a hell of a lot worse with more deviations, more fireballs.

I think that Peter Jackson could have made H.G. Wells War of the Worlds very well and it could have sold. In fact I know that I could myself.

Peter Jackson was passionate about LOTR, you would need someone with the same enthusiasm for the original book to make WOTW.

I'm a big fan of LOTR and Jackson did an excellent job . He wanted to make the story into two films, but to his amazement and delight New Line Cinema said "it would have to be three films". where are the great directors and producers with passion when you need them.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum